Bobby Jindal: President Obama worse than Jimmy Carter

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal slammed President Barack Obama in a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, saying Obama has proven him wrong that Jimmy Carter was the “worst president” of his lifetime.

“We have long thought and said this president is a smart man; it may be time to revisit that assumption,” Jindal said to thin applause. “Or at least to make a distinction between being book smart and being truly wise.”

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The Republican governor opened his remarks before the major conservative confab near Washington with what he called a “heartfelt and sincere apology” to Carter.

“I spent a lot of 2012 going around the country saying that President Obama was the most liberal and most incompetent president in my lifetime ever since Jimmy Carter. Now having witnessed the events abroad these last several days,” Jindal said, citing Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the administration’s move to shrink the military and increase food stamps. “To President Carter, I want to issue a sincere apology. It is no longer fair to say he was the worst president of this great country in my lifetime, President Obama has proven me wrong.”

Jindal focused the bulk of his speech on his work on school choice in Louisiana and religious liberty, saying both were under assault from the administration. For a former law professor, Jindal said, Obama doesn’t seem to respect the Bill of Rights.

“I’m not for lawsuits, and I’m not about suing people, but we’ve got a constitutional scholar as president. Strikes me he might benefit, we might benefit if he actually reads the Constitution now and then,” Jindal said. “If I were him, I’d consider suing Harvard Law School to get his money back because I’m not sure what he learned in three years.”

In addition to talking up the school voucher program he spearheaded in Louisiana, which is the subject of a lawsuit from the Justice Department, Jindal said the administration tramples the Constitution when it comes to religious freedom.

“I got some attention for standing up to defend the ‘Duck Dynasty’ family when they got in a little bit of trouble,” Jindal said to cheers. “You may have thought I was defending the Robertson family because they’re from Louisiana … because my kids are just huge, huge fans. … But the reality is this: I stood up for their right to speak up and articulate their beliefs because I am tired of the left. I’m tired of the left that claims they’re tolerant, claims they’re for diversity and they are, they’re tolerant and they’re for diversity except when you dare to disagree with them.”

When A&E suspended the reality show after the family’s patriarch, Phil Robertson, made controversial remarks about gays and religion in a magazine interview, Jindal released a statement supporting the family.

“This president seems to believe that our religious rights, our First Amendment rights, start and end in the pews on Sunday,” Jindal said Thursday. “It is amazing, I knew this administration didn’t like the Second Amendment to the Constitution; I thought they might still like the First.”

Jindal, considered a long-shot possible contender for the 2016 presidential race, spoke to the annual influential conference between his successor atop the Republican Governors Association, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, both thought to be considering their own runs for the White House.

The crowd from Christie’s speech, considered one of the marquee addresses this year, largely stayed put for Jindal, giving him a warm reception though not overly raucous. The speech was better received than his remarks last year, which were largely repetitive of a speech he had given weeks before.